McCain for President

This year has been a tough year for me to latch on to a presidential candidate. Early in the cycle based on conversations I had with friends working for Mitt Romney I was leaning towards our former Governor. As time has gone on I’ve been leaning away for various reasons none of which would be total deal breakers if Romney were to get the nomination but have caused me to shift my support.

Earlier this year I had great hopes for Fred Thompson but he’s just fizzled as a candidate. I agree with a lot of his positions but I don’t see him as having the charisma to run an effective campaign.

This all brings me back to the man I supported in 2000, John McCain. I’ll be honest, I initially was dead set against supporting John McCain in this cycle because of his authoring of the incumbent protection act known as Campaign Finance Reform. He and I agree that corporate influence in politics is bad, but his law with it’s contribution limits has forced more of that influence into the shadows. It has not shone the light on money in politics. The only way to do that is through no limits and 100% 24 hour reporting of campaign contributions, in my opinion. This was a tremendous non-starter in my book until recently.

If I truly believe that the biggest threat we face as a nation is Islamic Terrorism, then there is only one man that has been at the forefront of that fight in Washington that is in this race. That man is John McCain. Senator McCain truly understands that we are fighting a multi-generational war for the soul of the planet. That the “War on Terror” isn’t just some sound bite. He truly believes that this is a long process and that there will be setbacks but we can’t retreat when we hit those setbacks, but must move forward. He was right about the surge from 2002 on. He wanted more troops in Iraq and Rumsfeld didn’t. His strategy has worked, Rumsfeld’s didn’t.

John McCain is also the most honest man in this race. Some may say that he is honest to a fault. I find that refreshing in a Presidential Candidate. The most recent example of this was in his Christmas Ad. Many people have commented about Mike Huckabee’s “flying cross”, now I’m not going to say whether or not Huckabee’s people put the cross in their for subliminal effect, because I just don’t know. However, John McCain, being John McCain, came out with an ad and said effectively “there, there’s a cross and it’s in my ad”, no hokey effect, just there it is. I find that refreshing, and that ad is the one that put me over the top and in McCain’s Camp.

To those that say John McCain isn’t conservative enough, I say hogwash. John McCain has an 83% lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union. He has been a tireless crusader against earmark spending; he is the most solidly pro-life of any of the current candidates; he has demonstrated his support of the military time and time again; and is now a supporter of President Bush’s tax cuts which saved our nation from recession in the early 2000s. John McCain is a conservative.

I went up to McCain HQ on Wednesday to make some phone calls, and saw dedicated people from around the nation, taking two weeks of their lives to help Senator McCain. His campaign has momentum and I think he has a great chance at being our nominee.

Finally, I’m supporting McCain because of electability. John McCain is the most electable of our candidates in a General Election. He is not a polarizing figure and is the overwhelming choice of independents. We need those independents in order to win the general election.

I am proud to support Senator McCain and hope that you will give him your consideration.